The suspect in the deadly Berlin Pride attack that left one person dead and 29 injured was shot and killed by police during a confrontation on Sunday in a suburb of the city, authorities said.
Abdul Ballout, a German citizen with Lebanese roots, was killed following a search that lasted nearly 24 hours after the attack in downtown Berlin.
Officers located the suspect at around 6:00 pm, Berlin police said in a statement on X. He "ran towards them with a bladed weapon", prompting officers to open fire, killing him.
Investigators believe that the deadly attack near Berlin's Pride parade on Saturday evening was motivated by Islamist ideology, Germany's interior minister said Sunday.
"Everything we see here indicates that this was an Islamist terror attack," Alexander Dobrindt told reporters at the scene, adding that the number of injured had gone up to 29. One woman was killed in the attack.
German media reported that Ballout was a supporter of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group with a criminal conviction.
According to police, a white van had driven into the Tiergarten park around 10 p.m., which is next to the route that the pride march had passed along earlier, and hit several people before colliding with a tree.
Police could not say how many officers had been deployed to the scene but that it was “definitely a lot of police.”
Overall, more than 2,200 police officers have been on duty in Berlin since Saturday morning to protect the pride parade and other LGBTQ+ events in the city.
Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner expressed shock, saying that “following a peaceful and vibrant pride parade, the rally for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was attacked in the most brutal manner.”
“This is an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society,” Wegner said. “I have confidence in the police and security authorities, who will be working around the clock to investigate.”
The city also activated a crisis hotline for people missing friends or family members.
The pride event in front of the city’s Brandenburg Gate, near Tiergarten, was called off around 10:15 p.m. and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted. People were urged to go home and to avoid taking the route through the park.
(with newswires)
